FYA Report Says 60% Of Students Are Studying Or Training In Redundant Fields!

A recent report has highlighted the difficulty of training the nation’s youth for a gainfully employed future. According to a report by the Foundation For Young Australians (FYA), as many as 60 per cent of Aussie students are studying and training for jobs that are soon to be redundant.

Pointing to a problem with the national curriculum, the interest group has highlighted the need for a focused regime of future-proofed education. Increased digital literacy, already championed by some in corridors of power, could help improve the likelihood of fending off generational unemployment. Despite our best efforts and intentions, FYA insist that the problem is manifold.

An alarming 60 per cent of Australian students are training for jobs that will not exist in the future or will be transformed by automation, according to YFAs new report.

“Many jobs and careers are disappearing because of automation,” FYA CEO Jan Owen told the ABC. “The second driver is globalisation – a lot of different jobs that we’re importing and exporting. And then thirdly collaboration which is all about this new sharing economy.”

These significant shifts in the marketplace will likely result in an increasingly specialised workforce, one capable of manning the ‘new machine’ (ultra-high capability robots, increased automation and the supremacy of all things digital). In order to meet the rising wave, workers must adapt and find work in the emerging digital and green economies. “The point is that young people need to be prepared for those jobs, with 50 per cent needing digital capability,” Ms. Owen added.

With insiders and analysts calling for a more nationally focused approach to IT education at the school and tertiary levels, the government must make sure it is investing in the workforce of tomorrow. As the Intergenerational Report has already highlighted the need for a more specialised and longer lasting workforce, here’s hoping this second warning shot is heard around the nation.

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